Three-dimensional range camera
First Claim
1. A non-contact sensor system to measure range to an object from a reference plane comprising:
- a pattern generator and projector to produce a 1×
N array of time and space coded light rays whose intensities can each be varied with time, and to project P sequential presentations of different light ray patterns onto a three-dimensional object, where P=1+logb N, b is the number of brightness levels and N is the number of rays;
a linear array sensor which views, at an angle to projected light rays, points of light where said rays are incident on the surface of said object, and generates one-dimensional scan signals which have ray peaks at locations corresponding to imaged light; and
a range profile processor to analyze said scan signals to uniquely identify all rays, determine depth from the displacement of said ray peaks from calibration, reference plane peaks, and provide a range map.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A non-contact sensor system measures distance from a reference plane to many remote points on the surface of an object. The set of points at which range is measured lie along a straight line (N points) or are distributed over a rectangular plane (M×N points). The system is comprised of a pattern generator to produce a 1×N array of time/space coded light rays, optionally a means such as a rotating mirror to sweep the coded light rays orthogonally by steps, a linear array camera to image subsets of the light rays incident on the object surface, and a high speed range processor to determine depth by analyzing one-dimensional scan signals. The range camera output is a one-dimensional profile or a two-dimensional area range map, typically for inspection and robotic vision applications.
202 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A non-contact sensor system to measure range to an object from a reference plane comprising:
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a pattern generator and projector to produce a 1×
N array of time and space coded light rays whose intensities can each be varied with time, and to project P sequential presentations of different light ray patterns onto a three-dimensional object, where P=1+logb N, b is the number of brightness levels and N is the number of rays;a linear array sensor which views, at an angle to projected light rays, points of light where said rays are incident on the surface of said object, and generates one-dimensional scan signals which have ray peaks at locations corresponding to imaged light; and a range profile processor to analyze said scan signals to uniquely identify all rays, determine depth from the displacement of said ray peaks from calibration, reference plane peaks, and provide a range map. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A three-dimensional range camera comprising:
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a pattern generator and projector to produce a 1×
N array of time and space coded light rays which can each be varied with time and to project P sequential presentations of different subsets of said light rays onto a three-dimensional object, where P=1+log2 N and N is the number of light rays;means for orthogonally sweeping said array of coded light rays by steps over a rectangular plane; a linear array, line scan camera to image points of light on the surface of said object where said light rays are incident, and generate after each presentation a one-dimensional scan signal which has ray peaks at locations corresponding to imaged light points, said line scan camera generating a set of said scan signals per step; and a range processor to analyze said scan signals, set by set, to uniquely identify all rays, determine depth from the displacement of said ray peaks from calibration, reference plane peaks, and output area range map data. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A range camera for profiling applications comprising:
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a narrow laser beam source; a modulator to vary the intensity of said laser beam; a beam deflector to scan the modulated beam along a straight line and project it onto the surface of an object; said modulator and beam deflector producing a 1×
N array of time and space coded light rays and P sequential presentations of different subsets of said light rays, where P=1+logb N, b is the number of brightness levels and N is the number of light rays;a linear array, line scan camera to image points of light on the surface of said object where said light rays are incident, and generate a one-dimensional scan signal which has ray peaks at locations corresponding to imaged light; and a range processor to analyze said scan signals to uniquely identify all rays, determine depth from the displacement of said ray peaks from calibration, reference plane peaks, and output profile data. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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Specification